Saturday Sips

Unlike the popular bank, Chase Whittaker has no money. However, living on the northwest side of Chicago in a rundown building with no car, and no savings hasn’t made him totally undesirable. His good looks and charm make up for everything he seems to lack. Still, it’s not enough to stop his landlord from threatening to sell the building where he owns the store his grandfather opened.

Micah Strickland is the child of famous football player Thomas Strickland and a ghostwriter. Though he’s never hurting for money, He can’t seem to find a man who wants the same things he does. Insecurities about being accepted as a gay and black man also prohibit him from being happy. He does everything to prove he fits in and even after all that, Micah hasn’t found anyone who’s interested in a committed relationship.

When Micah visits Chase’s shop, the sparks fly almost immediately. Chase makes Micah feel special and seems to understand Micah’s battle with wanting to be accepted. But the possible relocation of the bookstore is a dark cloud over their budding romance.

As one issue lends itself to another, Micah finds himself battling what he’s feeling for Chase and loyalties to his father. The question now becomes, will he be able to honor his father without losing the man he’s come to love?

“Aw, another date with the cutie? And don’t forget, the people are coming by to fix the alarm at six a.m. tomorrow.” Jennifer bumped Chase with her hip.

“Yep, I remember. Micah invited me over to his place, Jenn, so you know what that means.”

“What?”

Chase started gyrating his hips.

“Oh my God you are such a pig. Just because he asked you to stop by, doesn’t mean he’s ready to have sex.”

“Yeah, it does,” Murphy chimed in from the back room.

Chase laughed.

“Hey kid, get back to work! And you better not be talking about banging anyone. You’re only nineteen,” Jennifer hollered over her shoulder.

“Hey, now. You’re not his mom, and after all, he is legal. I remember talking about banging boys when I was like fourteen.”

“That’s because you’re a freak. Besides, Murphy needs to concentrate on finishing up his GED to go to college. He promised me he wasn’t going to settle on working here and go get a degree.”

“Ah geez, Jennifer! Cut the kid some slack. He’s been through some shit, all right?”

“I know, I know. I just … I want to make sure he doesn’t get complacent. Not everyone is given a business to run at an early age like you.”

“Yeah, I know, but, still the kid’s gotta have some fun or he’ll be burned out real quick. Anyway, like I was saying, an invitation to eat and drink usually means getting some bootay.” Chase placed a couple of records in sleeves and wrote the names on them.

“Whatever. How was the date last night? And what kind of work does he do?”

“Micah is an author, actually a ghostwriter. He was finishing up a project for some well-known writer who needed his work by this morning.”

Jennifer nudged him with her elbow. “Really? Did he tell you who it was?”

“Nope. I didn’t ask, either. If it’s not Stephen King, I don’t care.”

“Ugh, Chase. There is so much more to books than Stephen King. I told you to check out the Hunger Games and Game of Thrones novel sets. They were awesome.”

Chase shrugged, “Nah. I like the show Game of Thrones, but not really interested in the books. Besides, I don’t think he can say who he work’s for. Aren’t ghostwriters sworn to secrecy?”

“Don’t know, you’re probably right. That has to be exciting and lucrative though. Maybe that’s why he came in here and dropped over two grand on albums and discs yesterday.”

“Actually, that might be, but you won’t guess whose son he is.”

“Whose?”

Chase placed a stack of albums in front of him. “Thomas Strickland. Star running back from the Steelers. He played back in the late eighties. The guy was amazing!”

“Don’t watch much football, so I have no clue.”

“Google him. I believe he’s in the Hall of Fame, too. My grandpa was a huge fan of Thomas’s since he was a big Steelers fan.”

“Okay, so the kid is rich and he ghost writes. Anything else interesting about him? Does he have available straight brothers or cousins?”

Chase chuckled, “Nope. Only child. I know he loves jazz music, but he mentioned he’ll listen to just about anything. He lives on Seminary in one of those high-priced condos. He likes Japanese food. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that restaurant he took me to.”

“Liv’s?”

“Decadent,” Chase rolled his eyes. “Jenn, the food looked like a crime scene on a plate.”

“Oh, so it is one of those hoity toity places. Is the food good?”

“Honestly, I’d rather have Liv’s back. The bill was almost four hundred dollars.”

“Are you serious?” Jenn screeched.

“Yep. Micah pulled out one of his cards to pay and we left. Can you imagine? I could eat on that for like at least three weeks.”

“Damn, that’s an expensive ass dinner, dude. If I spent that much on you, I would’ve asked for sex last night,” Murphy joked and slapped Chase on the shoulder.

“Heh, I know, right? At first, I felt a little guilty for letting Micah pay for the whole thing, but he did say it was his treat.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of loot to be spending on anyone for the initial date. Either he really likes you or he has money to burn.”

Chase nodded in agreement. “Yeah? Well I hope it’s more that he likes me and wants to fuck my brains out.”